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On May 20, 1973, Niels Liedholm’s Milan suffered a defeat against a Verona team already safe and without ambitions, losing the Scudetto to Juventus.

The standings saw the Rossoneri in first place with 44 points. The chasing pack, Lazio and Juventus, were tied in second place with 43 points. Three teams were still in the running for the title, with the Devil in the lead. Only a point against the unambitious Venetians was needed to secure the Scudetto. However, they were overwhelmed by the contrary winds of history.

VERONA FANS (PHOTO BY SALVATORE FORNELLI)

Milan-Verona: a written destiny… in pencil

Some matches go beyond the scoreline. Matches that remain not only in memory but in the lexicon of football and beyond. The “Fatal Verona” is one of those. A wound opened in the heart of Milan, a spring day that turned into a nightmare.

Milan was coming off a victory in the Cup Winners’ Cup just a few days prior. A tiring trip, given that the final was in Thessaloniki.

And we come to May 20, 1973: the final day of the season. The standings had Milan in first place with 44 points, Lazio and Juventus tied in second with 43. In short, three teams still in the race for the title, but with the Devil in the lead: just one point against the unambitious Venetians was needed to win the championship. A “formality”. And yet, they were swept away by the contrary winds of history.

With Liedholm on the bench, the Devil lined up with: Vecchi, Sabadini, Zignoli, Anquilletti, Turone, Rosato, Sogliano, Benetti, Bigon, Rivera, Chiarugi.

Verona responded with: Pizzaballa, Nanni, Sirena, Busatta, Batistoni, Mascalaito, Bergamaschi, Mazzanti, Luppi, Mascetti, Zigoni.

But at the Bentegodi stadium, in front of a Verona side already safe and carefree, everything fell apart. The match ended 5-3 in favor of the yellow and blues. A surreal game, almost Hitchcockian, where every expectation was overturned. And to think that things had started off well.

Milan took the lead, only to be pegged back. Verona played freely, without pressure, and struck fiercely. An unexpected and unthinkable thrashing.

The goals came from: Sirena, Sabadini (own goal), a brace from Luppi, Rosato, Turone (own goal), Sabadini, and Bigon.

Rumors spread quickly. Juventus, needing an almost impossible combination to win the title, began to believe. They then defeated Roma at the Olimpico with a goal from Cuccureddu, putting themselves in the lead. Milan had collapsed. The Scudetto was taking a new direction.

Unthinkable Debacle

A dramatic sporting chapter in Rossoneri history. The favorite and virtual champions, the Devil, finished second ahead of Chinaglia’s Lazio. That Sunday in May remained a warning for Italian football history. That unforgiving football, that doesn’t care about anything or anyone. Verona became the measure of the mockery. An authentic keyphrase of Rossoneri distress.

So much so that history can be truly cruel. In fact, seventeen years later – in 1990 – the story would repeat itself almost identically. But 1973 was the original. The first true “Fatal Verona” for the Rossoneri people. One that taught that in sports, and in this case football, until the final whistle blows, nothing is certain.